BY201

Hi there,

My Employment Pass (EP) expires in the next 3 weeks. Will a Short Term Visit Pass (STVP) be issued automatically or does there need to be an application?

Reason I'm confused is because online research suggests STVP its automatic, however my colleague (whose EP expired about a month ago) was fined (along with his wife) when they attended the MOM to collect their EP (following renewal) because they had not left the country after it expired.

This means the STVP cannot have been automatically issued otherwise there would not have been a fine?

My plan is to book a cheap return flight to KL (departing on the day it expires and returning the day after) so that I have the STVP and avoid any fine. I've found a cheap flight on Malaysian Airlines that arrives back in Singapore after midnight, so that I have the full 30 days.

Will there be any issues getting back into the country with an expired EP or does it not matter if you are able to enter on STVP? Is there any other option apart from this - I've seen you can do an online application to the ICA but that only seems to relate to applications for extensions to STVP not the initial granting of one (which leads me to presume the only way to get one is via a checkpoint?)

Really grateful for any guidance (my Singaporean company doesn't seem to know how it works) thanks in advance

ssoomro

I am NOT an expert on Singapore immigration, i used to live/work there for about 4 years, on EP and PEP. So please do not consider this a qualified answer.

I do NOT think end of and EP automatically provides LTSVP or STVP. you have to apply for it. my LTVP ended with my PEP. I requested an stay extension with Immigration and they granted me 30 days. that was back in Oct 2021.

As for re-entry in SG is concerned, after your EP has expired, that depends on your passport issuing country. If you are USA citizen, you are granted a 60 days visit pass on arrival.

Hope that helps.

astera

This is very confusing. Why aren't the EPs renewed while you are in Singapore? This is what I did and I never had to leave the country during an EP extension that was approved well ahead of time.

As for coming back as a tourist, shouldn't you get a full 90 days upon entry?

benedict.lim

most of the time, your employer has to be the one renewing your EP. essentially, they are continuing your employment at the company, and with that they need you to have a valid EP. most of the time, employers are the one that has to apply and renew your EP. you should probably check with HR.

goins

Hello By201

Was it tough getting a work visa S-pass., trying to get one my self

astera

Have you been offered a job in Singapore that doesn't qualify you for an EP but only for an S Pass? If the job offer is there and you have accepted it, then your employer will handle getting the S Pass for you.

goins

Ty Astera, no I am in the process (early). did you go through an Agency, I do understand some can do it..depending on one's qualifications.

ty

astera

First and foremost you need to have a prospective employer offer you a job contract, and then they (not you) arrange the S Pass (though of course they might use an agency for this).

The S Pass, like the EP, is TIED to that one employer (which is why you cannot get the pass ahead of finding a job). Once you no longer work for them your S Pass will also expire, but if you are offered another job then the new employer will then get a new S Pass for you.

The only pass not tied to a single employer is the Personalised Employment Pass (PEP), which allows you to change jobs without going through all the application processes as long as you continue to make enough money (the threshold is very high) and the break between employment is less than 6 months. But this is usually a pass that is given to people already living and working in Singapore, not new arrivals.